


Get Your Skates On

by YellowBananaOwl



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-22 14:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22117672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowBananaOwl/pseuds/YellowBananaOwl
Summary: The MJN crew is stranded in Ottawa and Douglas is trying to find them something fun to do. But the definition of fun is unfortunately not the same for everyone involved.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Get Your Skates On

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Fandot Secret Santa 2019.  
> Characters belong to John Finnemore.  
> Gift for olympain.

"So you mean we’re stuck here?"

"Martin, you’re not stuck anywhere. You are perfectly free to walk anywhere you like." Carolyn clarified.

"Except home."

"Well, you can always try," suggested Douglas. "But I think walking from Ottawa to Fitton might take longer than waiting for the plane to get fixed."

"Very funny, Douglas."

"How long would that take?" wondered Arthur.

"How long are we talking, Carolyn?" Martin asked.

"Walking or getting the plane fixed?"

"What do you think?" Martin raised an eyebrow at her.

"Nobody knows for certain, but I do suggest you stop moaning over something you can do absolutely nothing about, and that’s not really even your problem, at least not financially, and make the best of the time you have here. Keep your thoughts, hopes, prayers, or whatever suits you positive that we will be back in England before New Years."

"Before New Years? But I’m supposed to spend Christmas in Wokingham!"

"Then gather up all the positive vibes you can muster, Martin and go and be somewhere else."

"Like where? Have you booked us into a hotel yet, or is that something else I just have to think positively about?"

"I’m just about to make some phone calls. Now take the others with you before I book us one with extra mould on the walls."

"Can you do that?" asked Arthur.

"She can, and she will if we don’t get out of her sight," said Douglas. "Let’s go."

The three men walked out of the hangar, leaving Carolyn to do her CEO business.

"What is there to do in Ottawa then?" Arthur wondered.

"Probably nothing," moaned Martin. "Have you ever heard of anyone going to Ottawa for a landmark?"

"Clearly you’re not really up on your landmark knowledge, Martin. We're in the capital of Canada, there are lots of things to see here. What about the Rideau Canal?"

"The what?"

"The Rideau Canal," Douglas repeated. "It’s on the UNESCO World Heritage list."

"A canal? A freaking canal is going to cheer me up and make me forget about being stuck on the wrong side of the planet while I’m supposed to have Christmas dinner with Mum?"

"I thought you weren't big on Christmas," Douglas reminded him.

"I am when there's Mum's cooking," Martin mumbled. 

"Oh Skip, you don’t know if we’re going to miss out on Christmas at home yet," Arthur added. 

"Have you ever met me? Of course we are! With my luck we’ll be here until February."

"I’m sure Mum will think of something if we have to stay until February," said Arthur and chuckled.

"I’m not going to a bloody canal."

"Not even if it’s frozen?" asked Douglas.

"Especially if it’s frozen. Why would I look at a frozen canal?"

"Because you’ll be on skates."

"Skates?" Arthur sounded beyond excited. "Oh, can we go at once, please?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Oh, Skip, it’ll be fun!"

"I don’t have any skates," Martin tried.

"I’m sure we can rent some," Douglas informed. "Come on, Martin. As Arthur just said: It’ll be fun."

"It will not."

"Oh come on, Skip."

"You guys go. I’ll stay here with Carolyn and then go to whatever accommodation she’ll find us. Even if it does have added mould."

"Oh, I’m sure we can wait for Carolyn too," said Douglas. "I don’t want our own Ice Queen to miss out on this."

***

"You didn't tell me there was a castle here, Douglas!" Arthur did a little jump and immediately lost his balance. He managed to grab a hold of the First Officer who steadily helped him regain control of his legs without falling on the ice.

"I'm not sure it's technically a castle, Arthur, but nonetheless I thought it was a nice surprise."

"It's BRILLIANT!"

"It's actually quite pretty," said Carolyn. "But I'm still not getting out on the ice. You three go and I'll stay here with the lovely view, a cup of coffee, and my book and I'll wait for you to get back."

"Nonsense," said Douglas.

"If I'm going then you are going too," Martin insisted. 

"Martin, do I need to remind you who's the actual boss?"

"Douglas is," said Arthur, earning him some stern look from the other two. "Well, he found out about this place, he booked the taxi, he rented the skates, and he doesn't get to be the boss, so it's only fair he gets to be the boss for the day."

"Thank you for that, Arthur," said Douglas, interrupting the objections from the other two. "So let's get our skates on, shall we?"

"I'm not going," said Martin. "And I'm the Captain so I can decide I'm not going."

"You are only the Captain when you are flying," Douglas argued. "And as Arthur has stated, I'm the boss of ice skating, so we are all going!"

"FINE!" yelled Martin. "I can't skate! There. Are you happy?"

"Aaaah," Douglas said with realisation. 

"Why would we be happy about that, Skip?" Arthur wondered. "It's not really a thing for us to be happy or unhappy about."

"It's not difficult," said Douglas."

"Nothing is difficult for you," sighed Martin. "Can we please skip this?"

"I agree," said Carolyn.

"Hold on," said Douglas. "I would think you'd have a lot of fun watching Captain Bambi here."

"Douglas!" Carolyn held up a warning finger. 

"You can't skate either, can you?"

Martin and Arthur looked at her.

"Mum? Is that why you don't want to go?"

"I just don't want to get cold," Carolyn lied.

"Nonsense," said Douglas. "It's just as cold sitting here with a book. Colder actually, because with skating you'd be moving. I am right, aren't I?"

"If it helps, I don't know if I can skate either," said Arthur. "I've never really tried. But it looks fun!" Arthur moved his feet a little and fell straight on his bum. "Ouch! Okay that hurt a bit."

"Up you go, man cub," said Douglas and helped Arthur to his feet. "Actually the best way to learn to skate is to learn how to fall properly." 

"Thanks, Douglas," said Arthur with a proud smile and fell again. 

"So I guess you'll be an expert in at least one of those fields in no time." said Douglas and helped him up again. "Next time, try and fall sideways."

Martin watched Arthur fall and get up at least twenty times before the man managed to get on his own feet without help from Douglas. The thought of skating just became more scary than ever. Arthur was generally clumsy and he didn't care, but knowing that he, the Captain, would definitely fall in front of Douglas and Carolyn and about hundred strangers and that would have to get picked up by Douglas made him feel physically ill. He really didn't want to do it. 

That's when he saw Carolyn get on the ice.

She was wobbly at first, but being smaller than Arthur and definitely more careful, she managed to stay on her feet. He heard Douglas instruct them both and saw Carolyn and Arthur managing to walk and glide and stop. Arthur did a little fall, but got to his feet quickly and tried again. After a few minutes he was starting to look comfortable on the ice. Carolyn was still very careful and kept to the side where she could hold on to the wall if she needed to. After five more minutes she didn't need to. 

The fact that Carolyn and Arthur now seemed to have mastered the art of skating made him feel even worse. Why didn't he get out there when Carolyn did? Now the other two had a head start and all the focus would be on him. 

"Come on, Skip," said Arthur. "It's really fun, and I'll help you! Come, give me your hand and I'll lead you out on the ice."

The last thing Martin needed to be able to stand up was a wobbly Arthur to hold on to him. However, if he was perfectly honest, he'd much rather fall on Arthur than on the ice, and if he was lucky Douglas could be focussing on Carolyn that exact moment.

"I'll be okay on my own, Arthur," he lied and stepped out on the ice. Douglas' comment about Captain Bambi was forever etched in his head as he tried to move his feet a little to see if he could move without falling.

"Way to go, Skip!" cheered Arthur. "You are skating!"

"I'm not sure I would call it skating just yet," said Douglas swooping in from the side. "But you are doing very well, Captain. You are somewhat upright and you haven't fallen yet. Good job!"

"Maybe you should practice some falling, so you can learn how to get up again," suggested Arthur.

"I'm not falling on purpose, Arthur!"

"It's actually not a bad idea," said Douglas. "But staying on your feet is also a very great start. Now shall we try and move a bit more than seven feet from where we started? Maybe head towards the castle?"

"Oh, brilliant! Let's do that!" Arthur set off at a remarkable speed for someone who'd been skating for twenty minutes.

"I've just found my way to the ice and you want me to walk all the way up there?" Martin objected. "Give me a chance!"

"We don't have to go at Arthur's speed," said Carolyn. "He'll be like a dog and go back and forth and exhaust himself quite quickly. Just take it easy and we'll see what happens."

Martin groaned, but tried to move in the direction of the castle. It went slowly, but he was starting to figure out how to move forward slightly quicker and more controlled. 

"You're doing brilliantly, Skip!" Arthur called out from a distance. "This is fun, isn't it?"

Martin didn't want to admit it, but it was getting a bit of fun now that he knew what to do. And he hadn't fallen once! He was quite proud of himself.

"Oh, look at those!" Arthur shouted and pointed at a row of people skating together like a train. "Can we do that?"

"Absolutely not," said Martin and Carolyn simultaneously, but Arthur was already moving towards Martin.

"Oh, let's try a bit," he said. "You can be in the front since you're the Captain and you're used to being in the front. I'll push you."

"Arthur! NO!" Martin felt Arthur's hands grab his waist and his feet lose touch with the ice.

***

"Oh good, you're waking up. I was so scared." 

Martin looked straight into Arthur's face. He looked odd, like a mix between terrified and relieved. 

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"Don't you remember? I grabbed your waist to make a train and then you lost balance and fell and hit your head on the ice. I tried to catch you, but I only fell on top of you. I'm so sorry!"

"That explains the pain," Martin whimpered. "Where are we?"

"On a Zamboni!" Arthur beamed. "They saw us fall and one came and picked us up! We're off to the nearest rest area where a doctor will take a look at your head." 

"Where's Carolyn and Douglas?" 

"They're right behind us," said Arthur and pointed at the other two skating behind the Zamboni. 

Martin groaned with embarrassment. This was worse than just falling on his bum.

"I'm so sorry I made you fall over," said Arthur. "You were doing so great and then I ruined it."

"It's okay, Arthur," said Martin. "It wasn't on purpose."

"But still," Arthur said and took Martin's hand. "I just wanted to do something fun with you. It's been ages since we've done something fun together."

Martin looked up at him. Arthur looked genuinely upset. "Look on the bright side," he said with a weak smile. "We are riding on a Zamboni, towards a castle."

Arthur lit up. "We are! How many people can say that?"

"Not many."

"Not even Douglas and Mum. Just us! Douglas looked very jealous when they said only one person could ride with you and I said it had to be me since I was the one causing it. I think he really wanted to try."

Martin smiled. He looked back at Carolyn and Douglas who seemed to be struggling with keeping up with them.

He might be hurting all over, but at least he and Arthur now shared an unique experience even Douglas couldn't outshine.


End file.
